A supermarket retailer is eyeing up new stores in two Kent towns.

Aldi is looking to open two 20,000 sq ft branches in Tunbridge Wells and Gravesend.

Each site would also have an allocation for 100 parking spaces and be located near a main road with “good visibility and access”, the discount retailer says.

The plans form part of a £650 million investment this year to rapidly expand Aldi across the UK.

Managing director of national real estate at the retailer, Jonathan Neale, said: “We want to make high-quality, affordable food accessible to everyone, and that means opening new stores in the communities that need them most.

“The response from the public has been invaluable in helping us identify where demand is greatest, and where we need to focus our efforts on finding the sites that can become new stores.”

Gravesend and Tunbridge Wells have been identified as potential areas for new supermarkets following a public consultation to suggest areas most in need of new stores.

The two towns have been marked as “priority areas” in Kent despite already having branches.

In Gravesend, there is an Aldi in London Road, and in Great Lodge Retail Park in Tunbridge Wells.

Gravesend is already home to an Asda, Lidl, Tesco and an Iceland.

Tunbridge Wells has a Sainsbury’s, an Asda, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, and Lidl.

Earlier this year, the retailer applied for planning permission to open a supermarket in Maidstone Road, Chatham, where St John Fisher School used to be.

The proposal is being considered by Medway Council’s planning department.

And in Ashford, a new store in Waterbrook Park, Sevington is edging closer to completion with an opening date expected this Autumn.

Aldi currently has more than 1,050 stores across the UK and says it is working towards a long-term target of 1,500.